The New World
by Scrylon
Summary: Three unlikely explorers have set off to a new land outside their city. Where previous expeditions have failed, they plan to succeed.


**Raleigh**

Crawling on all fours, the drenched child slowly made his way up the shore toward softer land. Bright lights still flickered in his vision, and the pounding headache was threatening to overtake him. Trying to stand made him nauseous, and the coarse sand in his clothing was proving a source of irritation.

It could have been worse; he could have died. What an unfortunate end for the adolescent explorer!

Flopping onto his back, he allowed the burning sun to amplify his steadily growing tan. The drumming in his skull had only increased as time passed, and now swelling could be felt. Definitely wouldn't be good for future photographs, but photographers usually didn't come to unknown lands unless they had a death wish. Spineless weaklings they were, unlike the brave _charter of uncharted lands_!

"_This brain injury is certainly driving me mad. 'Charter of uncharted lands…' That's not even a real word."_

He closed his eyes and let in the sounds of the world. The chirping of birds, the rolling of waves, the rustling of leaves, and… wait… something was missing. He brought a hand to his left ear to find nothing. The young explorer sat up quickly, wincing at the pain in his head. An attempt to stand was made, and this time it was a success.

"_This isn't so bad_." He put his left foot forward. Triumph! He put his right foot forward and almost cried out. It didn't hurt too badly, but putting weight on the right knee produced a stabbing pain that certainly caused a bit of discomfort.

"_A minor wound wouldn't beat a truly courageous explorer!" _Pressing on towards the water, he scanned the ground slowly for his missing object. After a minute of following the trail he had made earlier, a metallic glint was noticed in the sand. He picked up the oddly shaped device and rubbed it on his shirt to dislodge any clinging clumps, then reinserted it back where it belonged.

"Ah. I was wondering when you would retrieve the earpiece, sir. It was getting awfully lonely mocking someone who couldn't hear me." The voice was posh and slightly modulated.

The adventurer sighed. "Hello to you too, P.A.O."

"Your enthusiasm is palpable. Now down to business. What is your name?"

Sitting back down in the sand, he crossed his legs and placed his arms behind him for support. "Is this really necessary? I'm feeling fine except for this throbbing headache and banged up knee."

"You slammed your head and knee on the steering wheel during the crash. You'll be fine in a few hours, and the swelling will subside soon enough. What is your name?"

"My name is Raleigh Erik."

"Who am I?" Replied P.A.O.

"I called you by name earlier though!"

"No acronyms, please."

"The Personal Assistant and Overseer." Raleigh answered with a huff.

"Good. Your speech isn't slurred and your answers are concise. Now you can stop whining about your headache seeing as it's not serious."

Raleigh rubbed his forehead. "It still hurts."

"Stop being such an infant. Your situation could be much worse than it already is.

"I guess I could have died." Raleigh sheepishly admitted.

"No, you could have been paralyzed. Then I'd be forced to listen to you cry and carry on until your heart finally gave out. Then I, the pinnacle of technological progression, would be trapped here indefinitely. A fate worse than the death I would never have."

"_Can't argue with that," _thought Raleigh. Lying back, he brought up a hand to shield his eyes from the rays of the sun. "What time is it?"

"You have a clock on your undamaged monitor and eyes in your unbroken skull. Perhaps if you'd raised your left arm you might be able to answer the question yourself."

Questioning his decision to bring P.A.O along, Raleigh raised his other arm above him. Covering most of his forearm was a relatively thin piece of metal with a protruded, rectangular screen. This device was P.A.O.'s true body. With it, he could monitor Raleigh's current state, sense the outside world, and perform a variety of other tasks that would be helpful in a standard environment. Currently the monitor showed Raleigh's heart rate (an above average 98 BPM) the current temperature (35 degrees Celsius) the date (June 21st, 382PA) the device's signal strength (None, as expected) current battery life (Solar based, with the battery at 100% capacity) and finally the time, which was 12:28 P.M.

_ "__Seems I still I have most of the day to… to do what?" _Pondered Raleigh. Here he was trapped in the middle of nowhere with not a clue where to go, what to do, or where to begin.

The voice in his ear piped up again. "I do hope you don't intend to sit there all day."

"Well, you hunk of metal, I don't see you offering any suggestions on what to do."

"I don't feel the need to answer questions that shouldn't be asked. However if you truly feel that you must be spoon fed information, then I suggest you start with retrieving any and all supplies from the vehicle you successfully ruined. Oh, and preferably before it sinks into the water."

Snapping his head up, Raleigh witnessed his heli-craft slowly sink beneath the waters of the lake. He could barely hear his companion's monotone "…and there it goes…" comment over the crashing cacophony of the situation's gravity. Fully ignoring the pain in his knee, he made a mad dash for the descending target. Running straight into the water, he momentarily shivered at the cold seeping around him once again, then began swimming at a steady pace towards the craft. Reaching it within seconds, Raleigh took a deep breath and dove beneath the water. Navigating into the cockpit first, he checked around as much as he could before he felt his lungs were about to burst. Swimming back up, he took another gulp and submerged once more. Locating the back panel, he pulled back the latch and tugged it open to find nothing. Almost screaming, he swam back to the surface and drew another burning breath before resuming his examination. Frantically searching around, he finally found something in the floor compartment behind his seat. Something with a long, slender steel handle and a sharp head. A fire axe!

Ripping it from the space, Raleigh kicked with all his strength toward fresh air. The axe was awfully heavy, and it slowed him down quite a bit. Flailing with all he could muster, he broke the water's surface and inhaled the sweet, sweet oxygen. Kicking towards the shore much less gracefully than earlier, he dragged himself onto the beach and rolled onto his back to stare at the sky once more.

"That could have gone better." Breathed Raleigh, still gasping for air.

"The meager supply retrieval or the situation in general?" Replied P.A.O.


End file.
